Blog

"Out the Classroom" Learning Opportunities

Monday, January 30, 2023 by Catherine Gilliland | Unique Learning Opportunities


Learning opportunities that take place "out the classroom" are some of the most memorable experiences for students. When children are seeking after a topic that motivates their learning, their thinking skills naturally grow stronger, void of resistance.


How could you design a personalized learning adventure about a topic that sparks delight for your child?  When children are led into these types of learning experiences, what first began as parent-led learning quickly passes into student-led learning. This style of learning works well for children of all ages and for multiple aged children in one family if a family decided upon a learning project together.


Any parent can create a unique unit of study for their child. First, determine a topic that interests your child. As a parent, complete investigative learning about this topic yourself to determine which aspects of the topic could be tangible learning experiences for a learner that is your child's age. You may want to begin at the library checking out and reading books on the subject to help your child become more familiar with his or her area of interest. Ask your child if they would like to visit the topic, make a model of their subject, or design another hands-on experience. Determine associated information that the child could learn to widen their general understanding. How can this be accomplished? Let the delight-driven learning begin! Be intentional and and scheduled, refraining from stringing the learning on for too long a period of time. 


A possible learning experience about the Oregon Trail could include reading literature about the topic, handcrafting a model of a prairie schooner, creating a relief map of the trail itself, designing a diorama of what a typical Oregon Trail camp may have looked like, studying about buffalo, calculating the mileage travelers covered between camps and in total, learning how to build a campfire and cooking a meal outdoors, drawing the box size of a covered wagon with sidewalk chalk and trying to fit belongings into the space, visiting an Oregon Trail museum, and taking an all day walk along a trail. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.


What do members of your family want to learn? I hope that you enjoy delightful memories with your family that will not only foster topic learning but draw your hearts closer as you complete the learning experience together.

Math Investigations Using the New Year (2023)

Wednesday, December 21, 2022 by Catherine Gilliland | Unique Learning Opportunities

To acknowledge the new year 2023, consider adding a fun and unique learning project to your month. There are several topics pertaining to years and calendars which you could investigate together with your child or teen. For example, learn about events occurred 100 years ago, 250 years ago, 500 years, etc. How has technology progressed since 1923? 1823? Popular music, art, and theater from 1923? 1823? 1723? Learn about the origins of the modern calendar. What were the ancient methods of keeping track of time? When were hours named? Is there history behind the names of months and days?

    

A plethora of more specific math investigations can be explored together based upon the year numbered 2023.


For younger children:

  • Help them memorize the names of the days of the week, months of the year, or the number of days in each month. 

  • Assist your child in making their very own calendar.

  • Practice counting by sevens using their calendar. Begin with counting by sevens, then challenge them to begin on 1, add 7, seven more, etc. Next, begin on 2, add 7, seven more, etc. 

  • Work on double digit addition, on paper and by mental math by adding up combination of months. For example: Add the total days contained in the months January, March, and November.

  • Help your child to picture the concept of a half of a year, a quarter, third, sixth, and a twelfth.

  • Have fun adding and subtracting from 2023. For example, ask, "What year was it 25 years ago? What year will it be 25 years from now? You can also use this style of question for asking about the date 6 weeks from now, 8 weeks prior to a certain date, etc.

Not only will your children have fun with this practical math, but they will be growing some crucial life skills.


Older children:

  • Challenge them further by adding in the concepts of adding hours and minutes. For example, ask, "What time is it now? What date and time will it be in 21 hours and 39 minutes?" and "What date and time was it 17 hours and 59 minutes ago?" If you have a friend over, let the two race each other.

  • Challenge your student to factor the year 2023 on paper or mentally.

  • Introduce simple and compound interest calculations using the year 2023.Teach about the costs of borrowing vs. the value of saving.

  • Calculate wages earned over time using months, years, etc. From those calculations challenge students with some budgeting questions.


Happy New Year! May you delight in learning together!